Comparative Study on the Growth Performance of Three Varieties of Guinea Fowl (Pearl, White, Lavender) Under Intensive Rearing System in Hot Humid Climatic Condition

Abstract

The present study was conducted to compare the growth performances among three varieties (Pearl, White, and Lavender) of guinea fowl in intensive rearing system. A total of 135 day-old keets (45 from each variety) were considered for the study. After hatching, keets were separated on the basis of their plumage colors into three varieties i.e. Pearl, White and Lavender. In case of intensive rearing system, guinea fowl keets were reared with commercial feed (Starter diet: ME 2950 Kcal/kg, CP 21% for initial 2 weeks; Grower diet: ME 3050 Kcal/kg, CP 19% for rest of the experimental period) and the birds were kept without outdoor access. The results for feed intake, body weight, body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) for three varieties of guinea fowl were statistically significant (p<0.05) during the whole experimental period (0-20 weeks). Among three varieties, Lavender showed significantly (p<0.05) higher body weight (1549g/bird) followed by White (1403g/bird) and Pearl (1353g/bird). Feed intake was significantly (p<0.05) higher in Lavender (6317.61 g/bird) as compared to Pearl (6179g/bird) and White (6225g/bird) varieties. Similar to body weight, cumulative weight gains were also significantly highest in Lavender (1516g/bird), moderate in White (1370g/bird) and lowest in Pearl variety (1321g/bird). Improved feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated for Lavender (4.16) as compared to White (4.54) and Pearl (4.67) varieties. On the other hand, the survivability was comparatively higher in White (95%) than the other varieties. Taken together, it can be concluded that among the three varieties of guinea fowl, the Lavender showed better performance compared to White and Pearl varieties under intensive rearing system.